I don't think there is anybody who wants to be the last in his/her class. In fact, all students aim higher in the beginning but are always discouraged and disillusioned when their outputs don't in any way correspond with their inputs; therefore, paving way for laziness and unseriousness. It is in this scenario you can distinguish between students who are determined to succeed and those who are not. Remember, life is not a bed of roses and most times it does give us what we want so you must adhere to this popular saying, 'when the going gets tough, only the tough gets going.'
The fact that your output
doesn't correspond with your input does not make you a dullard. Don't ever say
she is more/he is more brilliant than me. God is not wicked to make your brain
dull and that of your friend very active. The simple truth is that there are
things you are not doing rightly. In this article, I will be exposing the
methods I adopted as an undergraduate that made me excel in my academics:
1. SET A TARGET FOR YOURSELF
As a student, the first
thing you should do is to set a target for yourself. Your target is your aims
and objectives. It keeps you on track by calling you to order anytime you are deviating.
Your failure to set a target marks the beginning of your failure. Do you want
to be the overall best in your school or class? Do you want to graduate with a
CGPA of 3.50 and above? Do you want to score nothing less than a 'B' in all
courses/subjects? If yes, then this should be your target.
As an undergraduate, I
never liked any grade less than a 'B.' The reason is simple: the grade that
comes after 'B' is 'C' and if a student should get a 'C' in all his courses
throughout his stay in the university, that student graduates with a CGPA of
3.00 (which is Second Class: lower division). What will I do with that? For me,
it is not presentable, so my target was to get 'As' in all my courses and if
any course was too difficult, it should just be a 'B.' The point is that
the higher your target, the better for you. Most students will say all I just need in
that course is an 'E' (Pharaoh let my people go). This is really laughable and
pitiable.
2. KNOW YOURSELF
You don't just set a
target and leave it. You must work towards achieving it, and this is where knowing
yourself comes in. Are you the type that understands while reading in a quiet
environment? Do you easily understand while reading at night? Do you understand
while reading in the day? What time and where do you easily comprehend what you
read? As a student, you are expected to know this.
For me, I don't have a
reading time. I can read in any hour of the day and still understand. All I
need to have are willingness and concentration. This might not work for you and
that is why you must know yourself. You will only make the classroom your
sleeping room if you follow your friend who is good at reading at night to
night classes.
3. ATTEND LECTURES
Nobody forced you to go
to school so I don't see any reason you won't attend lectures. To become a
bright student, you should attend lectures and always sit in a position where
you can hear what your lecturer or teacher is saying.
4. TAKE DOWN
MAIN POINTS AND DEVELOP THEM
'The lecturer was too
fast' is the major excuse students give when you ask them for their notes. You
don't expect the lecturer to be slow. Do you? As one my professors would say.
'I am not here to teach you but to guide you.' Lecturers are not teachers; they
are synonymous to guiders. What they do is to introduce the topic to you while
you make your research. Only a few of them will give you comprehensive notes.
In fact, I have come to realise that I thought myself 60% of what I knew as an
undergraduate.
As an undergraduate I
always developed my notes after lectures. I went to classes with my rough note
to get the main points, made research on the them, then developed my note. The
interesting part is that when the semester examination was very close, students
paid me in order to get the photocopy of my note. Hard work pays! I made
reasonable amount from that and I am cocksure you can do same.
5. REVISE AND ATTEMPT
PAST QUESTIONS
Every teacher/lecturer
has his/her pattern of setting examination questions. Ask from your
predecessors or senior colleagues the past questions of any lecturer/teacher
who has taught them and is now teaching you. When given, revise these past
questions and attempt them. It is not guaranteed the questions will be
repeated but it becomes a work over for you if any of the attempted questions
is presented in the exam. It also exposes you to the patterns and styles
lecturers adopt in setting their questions. This will no doubt show you the
areas of concentration while reading.
I adopted this method and
it really worked for me so you can give it a try.
6. PAY MORE ATTENTION TO YOUR WEAK SUBJECTS/COURSES
If you know what an 'E'
or 'F' can do to your result despite the number of 'As' and 'Bs' decorating
them, you will learn to pay more attention to your weak subjects/courses.
Remember, no school will admit you if you don't have Mathematics or English. As
an undergraduate, all courses are relevant because failing or having a very low
grade in any can make you miss your target. Do not let any of them to suffer.
Back then in school, I
could easily pass my language courses but was really battling with my
literature courses because of the numerous books so I decided to give more
attention to the literature courses which I ended up passing very well although
I had an appalling performance in one of them. The method I adopted is the
'time stipulation method.' If I read my language courses for an hour, I would
read my literature courses for three hours or more. It really helped. Now I can
analyse a literary text like kilode.
7. LEARN HOW TO CRAM
Yes! Don't be surprised.
It is very important you read to know but in course of reading, there are certain
areas which need cramming and it will affect you if you don't have the cramming
skill.
I read English and
Literary Studies and most of the literature courses required contextual
analysis- a situation where you are expected to analyse a literary text backing
it up with statements made by characters/persona (in poems) and adding
the page/line where it is found. Who on earth will ask you this outside the
examination hall? However, for the purpose of the exam, you need to cram all
these in order to pass very well. That is why I said you must learn how
to cram but reading to know is very vital.
8. ASK QUESTIONS/GROUP DISCUSSIONS
Nobody is a reservoir of
knowledge. After reading, you can ask questions in areas that are not
very clear to you. Most persons think it is embarrassing to ask questions,
especially when it has to do with their junior colleague. My dear, learning is
a continuous process; it does not matter who you learn from. You can form a
reading group where you share ideas with your fellow classmates after reading.
It helps too.
9. PREPARE BEFORE TIME
The right to prepare is
now. Stop the procrastination! Remember, proper preparation prevents poor
performance. Don't be carried away by frivolities. You are there to study and
you must study to show thyself approved. Reading when it is very close to exam
will no doubt affect your overall performance.
10. ALWAYS COMMIT YOUR SCRIPTS INTO THE HANDS OF GOD.
Many lecturers out there
are destroyers of students' destinies. I call them Sadists. Most times students
write very well but are intentionally failed by these lecturers because the
students failed to sort or keep to one their unholy commandments. Therefore,
until your result is finally published, do not stop asking God to take absolute
control. I was always a prayer warrior during and after my exams and God
showcased His Sovereignty in my academics.
If totally adhere to, the
aforementioned method will cause a turn around in your CGPA and result.
Tags:
Students Clinic
